


i don't flirt, i just talk

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, F/M, M/M, Modern Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 14:11:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8893705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Real life, huh?” A voice says. 
Steve looks up and sees a man dressed an elf. Red suspenders with a red and white striped shirt tucked into soft, green pants. A red and green hat sits on top of his head and he has dark hair that’s pulled into a small bun. A volunteer, Steve supposes. He’s making a cup of coffee and when he turns, Steve notices his piercing, blue-grey eyes and sharp jaw. 
“What?” Asks Steve, not sure he means.
The elf casually dumps some creamer into his coffee and stirs while he says, “You’re a superhero. You show up and save the day from catastrophic disaster and then return to your Tower until the next alien attack or whatever. Meanwhile, real life continues and real life is shitty. Horrible things happen every day and yes, children suffer.”
“I understand that,” Steve says. 
“You of all people should,” the elf comments.
 
  AKA Steve attends a holiday party at a Children's Hospital and meets an elf who sort of steals his heart





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've been toying with a few different modern Bucky and Captain American Steve stories, and this is the one that actually came to completion. For the record, I know nothing about nursing so let's ignore my ignorance.

It’s December 21st and Steve is visiting the Potts-Stark Children’s Wing of a local hospital.

Tony and Pepper had hosted a charity gala in its name earlier during the month, but today is the annual holiday party for its patients and staff. While both Tony and Pepper are in attendance this afternoon, they’d invited Steve to serve as the face of the party. 

On the surface, Steve would normally veer from such an invitation; the entire _deal_ reminds him a little too much of his days during the war—the schmoozing and going through the motions while shaking hands and repeating the same, scripted lines. He doesn’t like to be a talking head.

Except in this situation, it involves children. And on top of that, it involves children in a _hospital_. Having spent most of his childhood and young-adulthood in hospitals, he can relate. He knows how awful it can be—how much it sucks. You’re poked and prodded on a daily basis, and on top of that there’s the constant, underlying fear.

Which is why he agreed to do this.

An event like this is nice.

The cause is close to his heart and he doesn’t have to be anybody but himself. All he has to do is interact with the children and their families. He’ll joke and laugh, he’ll help them hold and pretend to throw his shield, and then he’ll hand out gifts.

All he wants is for them to be happy and today, they will be.

Now, he stands in a large common room. A huge tree towers in the corner, decorated to its max with handmade items. Tables flank either side with a plethora of items from other denominations. Across the room there’s a stand filled with treats ranging from cookies to cocoa. Glittering lights are hung all around and everybody seems in good spirits.

Steve is dressed in a soft, blue sweater with snowflakes on it and holds a red, velvet sack filled with gifts.

“Everything looks great,” he comments as Tony approaches him. 

“Thanks.” Tony claps him on the shoulder. “It was all Pepper, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Steve echoes and Tony shoots him a glare that doesn’t hold any malice before squeezing his shoulder.

“All right,” he says as he removes his hand and gives him a soft punch. “First, you’re going to visit the kids who are still in their beds. After that, head back here.” He nods toward the velvet sack. “Check the gifts before you hand them out. Pepper has a name attached to each.” 

Steve nods and heads off, escorted by one of the RNs.

He visits a number of rooms. Some of the children are conscious, some not, but he gives each a gift and poses for several photos when asked.

A seven-year-old boy who is recovering from spinal surgery tells Steve that he likes Falcon best. While Steve pretends to act offended, he quickly dials Sam and hands his phone to the boy’s parents. The three speak over speaker with Sam and the conversation is incredible. The boy is beaming by the end and declares he’ll be the next Falcon. Sam tells him he has no doubt about that and Steve echoes in agreement.

After that, Steve takes a few minutes for himself.

He ducks off into what appears to be a lounge, either for employees or families. He sets his sack of gifts atop a table and closes his eyes as he sinks into a chair.

A minute or so passes and then a voice interrupts his thoughts. “Real life, huh?” It says. 

Steve looks up and sees a man dressed an elf. Red suspenders with a red and white striped shirt tucked into soft, green pants. A red and green hat sits on top of his head and he has dark hair that’s pulled into a small bun. A volunteer, Steve supposes. He’s making a cup of coffee and when he turns, Steve notices his piercing, blue-grey eyes and sharp jaw. 

“What?” Asks Steve, not sure he means.

The elf casually dumps some creamer into his coffee and stirs while he says, “You’re a superhero. You show up and save the day from catastrophic disaster and then return to your Tower until the next alien attack or whatever. Meanwhile, real life continues and real life is shitty. Horrible things happen every day and yes, children suffer.”

“I understand that,” Steve says. 

“You of all people should,” the elf comments.

Steve snorts and nods. “Exactly. That’s why I agreed to do this. But…” He pauses. “I don’t know. I guess I thought I could relate, but then it turned out I could relate a little too well…” Because, yes. He can relate to the children confined to beds, and the parents who try to look hopeful but have something else wavering behind their eyes.

The elf looks sympathetic now. He takes a sip of his coffee and draws a slow breath in. After a second, he says, “For what it’s worth, these kids are fighters. Champions. They’re so fucking strong—I mean, hell, _they_ might as well be Avengers.”

“You’re right,” Steve comments. He stares at the tabletop for a moment and remembers why he was here in the first place. “They are,” he agrees, and begins to gather his things. He meets the elf’s eye and says, “Thank you. Now, I should probably get out of my head and get back out there.”

Chuckling a little, the elf nods. “Go get ‘em,” he says as he takes another sip of his coffee. He also gives a small salute before Steve heads out the door.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Later, at the party in the common room, Steve continues to act as a pseudo-Santa.

The kids sit beside him and tell him what they want for Christmas. 

In turn, Pepper stands to the left and hands him gifts that either match or come close to what they want. Each gift is labeled with a name, as the earlier ones had been. She had done her research, which is as detailed as it is incredible. Each child is thrilled and he loves watching each open the gift.

After that, they turn up the holiday music and put on a movie in the corner.

The kids and their families dance, play games, and enjoy the movie. Steve watches with a small smile and eats a few of the appetizers. Okay, more than a few. He’s hungry and has mostly subsided on cocoa and coffee all day.

He’s making his way through a tray of mini-eggrolls when a voice says, “I’ve got a turkey sandwich in the break room fridge and some pita chips in my locker if you want something more than two-dozen mini-eggrolls.” 

Steve turns and sees the elf from earlier.

The elf is stirring a cup of cocoa with a candy cane and smiling. And, well—shit. He’s actually really attractive. Caught up in his own mind earlier, Steve hadn’t notice. Now, he also notices that the outfit is rather formfitting and… yeah, he approves of what he sees.

Steve swallows what he believes is his ninth eggroll, thank you very much, and huffs a quiet laugh. “Sorry. Superhero metabolism.” He pauses and then takes a second to consider what the elf had said. “Locker?” He asks. “I thought you were a volunteer.” He doesn’t think volunteers would get a locker… or bring sandwiches with.

“I work here, actually.” The elf extracts a badge from beneath his striped shirt. “I’m a nurse. James Barnes.” He extends a hand and Steve shakes it.

“Steve Rogers,” Steve replies. “We never officially met, I guess.”

The elf—James—smiles. “Yeah. I sort of already knew your name.”

“I guess you would,” Steve replies. “Sorry for assuming about the volunteer… thing. It was just… the outfit, I guess.” He shrugs weakly and James laughs.

“Right. This.” He pulls at his costume and rolls his eyes. “I lost a bet with Gabby over there.” He nods toward a young girl in a wheelchair. “She was being fit for her leg prosthesis and was worried it wouldn’t look good. I bet her it wouldn’t look as good as mine—“ He wiggles his fingers and Steve realizes now that James’ left hand is a rather high-tech, metal prosthesis. “Anyway, she immediately bet that it would look even better. So, we ventured a wager: if mine was better, I’d get the gourmet cookie her parents had given her; if hers was better, I’d dress as an elf for the holiday party.”

Steve smiles softly, his heart tugging. “And?” He asks, already knowing the answer obviously.

James shrugs. “What can I say? She works that thing. It was no contest.” Across the room, Gabby waves at him. James waves back.

Steve says, “For what it’s worth, you work the outfit pretty damn well, too.” He tries to flash a suave smile but can feel his cheeks heating. He’s probably blushing down to his chest at this point because he sucks at flirting. James’ eyebrows shoot upward and he looks surprised, but not unhappy. After a second, his expression melts into a natural smile.

“Thanks,” he says. “You work that snowflake sweater, too. Although, I think you work everything. You ‘re the epitome of human perfection.” James quirks an eyebrow as he says this and then _winks_ … which, the fuck. He’s smart, sexy and smooth. 

Steve is blushing even more now, if possible. “Cool,” he mumbles, not quite able to meet James’ eye. “I mean, thank you. Because… yeah. But, uh—what you did with Gabby? It’s really sweet. Amazing, honestly.”

“I do it all the time,” James says. “It’s my life. They’re kids. They’re insecure as it as, and when you add major, life threatening changes on top of that? Fuck. At the same time though, they’re capable of anything. Like I told you earlier, they’re strong. They’re fighters. So if I have to pretend I want their desserts in order to boost some confidence, I’m there in a heartbeat.”

“You’re amazing,’ Steve breathes and James looks amused.

“And you aren’t even remotely good at flirting,” he says. Steve moves back a step, and James laughs, placing a hand forward. “No, sorry. It’s funny. When I saw Captain America moping in the break room, I didn’t realize he was a real person. You know?”

“I do.” Steve nods.

“But you’re just this… guy. And you’re awkward and… sweet.”

“I am,” Steve says. “I only came here because children and hospitals. Not in a creepy way, obviously, but because…” he stops and drags a hand over his face. “Fuck, I am awkward. I wish I could come up with some sort of speech right now but…”

James cuts in. “The fact that you said ‘fuck’ just now made my day. My year, even.”

“Thank you?” Steve asks, wincing. James laughs again and… he has a great laugh.

He says, “No, no—it’s cute. Humanizing. I love it.”

“That’s… good?’ Again, Steve asks because he isn’t sure if it’s a compliment or an insult.

“Look.” James grabs a napkin from the table and fishes a pen out of his pocket. “I’m off the next three days. Tomorrow I’m going to crash and probably binge on Netflix, but the next day? Maybe we can get brunch. Or a coffee. Or whatever you’re comfortable with.” He scribbles his number down and hands it to Steve. “So, text me? Or call?”

Not an insult, then, Steve decides. He takes the napkin and carefully folds it. “I will,” he promises. Because yeah, he definitely will.

“Cool.” James smiles and lays a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “It was nice meeting you,” he says. “Now, I’ve got to get back to my rounds.”

“Nice meeting you, too,” Steve calls after him as he leaves.

Steve grabs another min-eggroll and eats it. He chews for a second or two before somebody approaches him.

“That was weird,” Tony comments, sauntering up and bumping his shoulder. “Did Cap just flirt with _a man_ and set a date?”

“He did,” comments Pepper, appearing out of nowhere. She grabs Tony by the elbow. “And we aren’t going to pester him.” She flashes Steve a soft smile and steers Tony away. “Look, the Zimmermans have just arrived. Let’s say hello.” And Steve is entirely grateful that Tony complies and follows her.

He eats a few more eggrolls and sort of wishes he had taken James up on that sandwich. 

After that, he enjoys the party—he chats with a few people, but mostly spends time with the kids. He plays a few games, watches part of _Jingle All the Way_ and engages in more than a few debates over what the best superpower is.

At the end of the night, he leaves the party feeling happy, and all the while he keeps the napkin tucked security in his pocket.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When he gets home, he sends James a quick text.

**\+ It was nice meeting you.. I won’t bother you on your first day off, but maybe Friday we could get a cup of coffee? Wherever you like. I’d like to see you again. This is Steve, by the way.**

He’s been told that he texts like an old man, but he doesn’t really care. He doesn’t think James will care, either.

An hour later, he receives a reply.

_\+ sorry, just got off my shift_  
_\+ that sounds nice, i’ll text you a time and place on friday_  
_\+ also, i’m kind of freaking out over captain america texting me and asking me out on a date_

Steve chuckles softly and replies.

**\+ As I said, this is Steve asking you out on a date. Captain America has a killer smile and composed speeches. Steve is awkward and freaking out too because the cute nurse he met tonight actually wants to see him again.**

_\+ no_  
_\+ steve has a killer smile too_  
_\+ and of course i want to see you again, you doof. you’re adorable and i’m probably being entirely too forward because i’m coming off a 12 hr shift_

****\+ Go to sleep. I’ll see your Friday.** **

In response, he receives a smiling emoji followed by an elf. Steve laughs again and saves James as a contact before setting his phone on his bedside. 


End file.
